I saw (e:Tinypliny) added a new topic to the topic suggester. I would have been a botanist if everything went as planned.

I went to college for Botany originally. In high school biology was my focus. I was so into it, I wanted to be a scientist going all the way back to my first microscope kit. I got a 5 on my AP bio exam. I did my internship at the Botanical Gardens and then the Botany department at UB. They were doing this interesting study trying to figure out what chemicals in smoke get some native dessert cotton plan to bloom. Apparently, it only bloomed after fire.

If I had really had my way I would have gone to Davis in CA for viticulture. Unfortunately, I was not able to afford it. Around the same time my uncle had a heart attack and we went down to SC. While there I applied to Winthrop and get a full scholarship.

So Winthrop didn't have a botany program so I ended up in general Biology which included zoology and dissection. This was a big issue for me as I was vegan at the time. I ended up finding a teacher who was botanist/anthropologist and got involved in her project of collecting editable plants from former slave housing areas on plantations. The idea was that their rations list only included corn mash and bacon which is not enough to survive so they wanted to determine what else they were eating. We found lots of editable plants near their former dwellings and I sketched them out and pressed them. I really enjoyed that.

At the same time I continued taking German. The German teacher I had was an exchange teacher from Flensburg, Germany. She told me the school there had a botany program and was looking for exchange students. So I applied and got in. I ever got a stipend to live there. It was perhaps the greatest year of my life. While there, I studied Naturheilkuende (Natural Healing) which was all about humans using herbs for food and medicine. I love it but I really liked speaking german too. The classes with the teacher there were the most interesting I have ever taken.

Unfortunately, when I got back to SC, they had canceled their German program. My friend Amy who studied with me at Winthrop went to school at Northern Arizona University. So I took some time off working lame temp jobs in Buffalo (that was the worst time of my life.) Then I headed of to AZ for school where I also met (e:terry). I met up with a german professor who was very interested in computers and language acquisition software, got a job in his lab and started computer programming. I mean I had been programming my whole life but never for any sort of purpose and we all know where that lead. At this point I had so many German credits. Most of my botany credits would not count toward an american biology degree but they did end up counting as german classes.

I decided it was time to end college and went for a degree in German. I applied for the NAU exchange program and once again I was over in Germany, this time with (e:terry) in Jena, Thuergingen for a year - another great time.

I went back to taking more Botany classes and a few local history/language classes. At that point I was probably not so good at botany in english but I was pretty good at it in German, lol. The one thing I regret is that the Botany professor I interned for at UB, where the whole interest started, was in Jena at one point - but I never met up with him. I wonder if that could have changed my direction.

After that I had no real way to apply german+botany to anything so I went all computers and went grad school for Media Studies which lead the the next 10 years of non-stop programming and my fairly boring life now that involves little to no nature. In the end my school loans for grad school were so expensive, I almost wish I had just taken out the crazy loans for undergraduate in viticulture at Davis.

A new twist on the blueberries and fish bowl. This one is smoked salmon, corned beef, mozarella, romaine lettuce, string beans, garlic, celery, blueberries, tomatoes, artichoke hearts, lemon, olive oil and herb salt.

Perfect for St Patrick's Day. Its berries greens, salmon, and corned beef.

The other day I was hanging out with (e:mike) and (e:libertad) when he mentioned that he saw a consumer reports study saying that protein supplements were found to have high levels of lead, arsenic and cadmium.

Luckily, the one I generally consume - Solgar's Vanilla Whey To Go was not on the list. I figured it couldn't be seeing as it is just whey protein. Plus I like this one because it has no sweetener, natural or artificial. Like most of the "natural" ones use stevia which I do not like and the others all use artificial sweeteners. This one just is not sweet. I got a 32oz cannister on amazon for $33 which lasts me a long time.

Seems like the ones such as muscle milk which are more than just protein seemed to be the problem. I am guessing either the milk they start out with is seriously tainted or the heavy metals are found in the added vitamins. If it is in the added vitamins then I bet you can also find heavy metals in multivitamin supplements. Not that I take those.

I have to burn up my remaining vacation time before it expires April 1. I am not actually going anywhere because I can't afford to, plus (e:hodown) and (e:lilho) are coming to town and it is (e:matthew) and (e:keithT)'s birthday.

So day one, I ended up working from 12-5PM. Great.

It started with an emergency phone call about a system that was not working. I didn't change anything so I really didn't expect it was my system. It wasn't, then it was just one thing after another.

Hopefully, tomorrow will be better.

I guess the church folk next door are not the only people that think parking on the lawn is acceptable. The people at the trashiest house on the street do the same thing. Their lawn is so jacked up now.

I love how they threw in some wood planks to try and make it parkable. This house is one plot that would be better off as a parking lot.

I headed down to the made in America store in Elma with (e:libertad) and (e:Mike). They had some interesting stuff including some nice outdoor grills and firepits. In the parking lot they had giantist snowman I ever saw.

I ended up buying raw honey and beef jerky.

I got the best egg sandwich I ever had. The bread was amazing.

Someone doesn't like peace. I am divided on if I like it when they paint the boards on boarded up buildings. Does it look better?

I updated this. It makes a lot more sense with the photo.

We went down to (e:Joshua)'s memorial in Jamestown last night. He will be missed.

Last night at the artvoice Mardi gras party, (e:Mike) and I saw one of the patrons with a whole bunch of frozen food. Which seems like a weird thing to bring to a bar until you consider there is an accessible 80s style microwave between the men's and women's bathroom. Okay, its still strange.

He shoved a paper box along with several bags full of frozen food and set the microwave to high for 24 minutes. I can only imagine how nasty that turned out, not to mention full of weird toxins from the plastic.